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One of the interesting things at the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship was the number of NHL draft-eligible players who not only participated in the tournament but wound up having an impact on their teams.

After consulting with a couple of scouts and QMI Agency’s always watchful eyes on the action, here’s a list of the draft-eligible players who might have done themselves the most good at the tournament.

As one of our scouting confidantes said, “It’s a 19-year-old tourney, so you don’t penalize the draft eligible players for their performance, but if they stand out, you really take notice. A good example is (Swiss star Nino) Niederreiter two years ago.” He had six goals and 10 assists and went from being projected in the middle rounds of the draft to fifth overall by the New York Islanders.

So, here are this year’s kids who improved their draft stock:

1. Seth Jones, D, United States.

He was helped by the rising tide lifts all boats theory as he was part of the gold-medal winning team. He has imposing size, is a great skater and sees the ice well. “I think he has the most upside of any kid in the draft,” said a scout. “I think he is Jay Bouwmeester at worst and he could be a Chris Pronger if he gets mean.”

2. Elias Lindholm, F, Sweden.

“I thought the kid showed heart, skill and speed,” said one scout. “He’s got a lot of weapons and he plays hard.” The kid has great hands.

3. Jonathan Drouin, F, Canada.

“I think he improved his stock,” said a scout. Drouin reminded another scout of a potential Claude Giroux. He’s not physically imposing but plays bigger than he is, is good in tight spots and has great vision. He’s been a mover on the mock draft charts and helped his cause in Ufa, Russia.

4. Nathan MacKinnon, F, Canada.

Touted as the consensus top pick in this year’s draft, he didn’t get as much of an opportunity to shine on Team Canada in a lockout year when the forward ranks were bolstered by the presence of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mark Scheifele and Jonathan Huberdeau. MacKinnon had to toil on the third and fourth lines for the most part, but showed his strength down low and outstanding skating ability. It seemed like the puck was always in the other team’s end when his line was on the ice.

5. Valeri Nichushkin, F, Russia.

It was an eventful tournament for the big forward. He scored the winner against Canada in the bronze medal game on a great individual effort and also got kicked out the preliminary round game between the two teams for hitting Canada’s Tyler Wotherspoon into the boards from behind. The downside is he has a KHL deal for the next couple of years.

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Top five world junior players who improved their draft standing

One of the interesting things at the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship was the number of NHL draft-eligible players who not only participated in the tournament but wound up having an impact on their teams.

After consulting with a couple of scouts and QMI Agency’s always watchful eyes on the action, here’s a list of the draft-eligible players who might have done themselves the most good at the tournament.

As one of our scouting confidantes said, “It’s a 19-year-old tourney, so you don’t penalize the draft eligible players for their performance, but if they stand out, you really take notice. A good example is (Swiss star Nino) Niederreiter two years ago.” He had six goals and 10 assists and went from being projected in the middle rounds of the draft to fifth overall by the New York Islanders.